ELECTIONS AND THE LEGITIMACY OF DEMCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The work examines election and the legitimacy of democratic governance in Nigeria. A lot has been said about the conduct of election in Nigeria. There is no doubt that at every necessary period when a tenor is terminated the election comes in but each election is usually associated with rigging, physical intimidation, beating or even killing. At the end of each election the winner emerge, such winner do lack legitimacy because of the circumstances surrounding his election and all his policy and action why in office may not be accepted by the people. This work examines the reason for lack of legitimacy of the ruling government in Nigeria and discovered that: Nigerian politician sees political offices as avenues for accumulating private wealth, the fear of opposition, winner-takes all politics, corruption, lack of good leaders and inefficient judiciary. The paper concluded that; for government to have legitimacy in Nigeria, the election that brought such people to governance must not be through any of the identified problems. It is only then that such government can received the expected corporation of the Nigerian.